Ronnie Perelis ISSN 1540 5877 eHumanista/Conversos 9 (2021): 23-32 23 Translating Translations: the case of the Carvajal manuscripts Ronnie Perelis, (Yeshiva University) The lives of Luis de Carvajal, el mozo and his extended converso family have been studied by scholars throughout the 20 th and into the 21 st century. The Carvajal family story was documented through the numerous public documents relating to Luis’ uncle and namesake who was appointed governor of the territory of Nuevo Reino de León in the Northeastern corner of modern-day Mexico and the extensive records of the two Inquisitorial investigations into Luis and his wider familial circle in 1589 and 1595. * In addition, Luis composed a fascinating autobiographical narrative of his spiritual wanderings and struggles. A transcription of this document was made by the Mexican historian Alfonso Toro for his personal use while writing the first major history of the family —La Familia Carvajal— and it is thanks to this copy that scholars such as Toro, Martin A. Cohen, Miriam Bodian, Lúcia Costigan and myself have been able to explore Carvajal’s life and religious ideas. 1 However, the full extent of Carvajal’s literary output was beyond the reach of scholars because in 1932 the original manuscript of Carvajal’s eclectic religious writings was stolen from the Mexican national archives —the Archivo General de la Nación. 2 In the Fall of 2016, thanks to the keen eye and probity of Mr. Leonard Milberg — a collector of Americana and Judaica— this collection of unique manuscripts composed by Luis de Carvajal between his two Inquisitorial trials (1589-1595) was recovered and returned to the Mexican authorities. Before their return to Mexico, Mr. Milberg had the manuscripts digitized at Princeton University and a full digital version is available to all, online via the Princeton Library website. 3 For this act of scholarly rescue and the democratization of access afforded by the digitization of the text Mr. Milberg should be applauded. With the full manuscript we can go beyond the Vida and explore new horizons in Carvajal’s religious thought which I believe are relevant for scholars of New World * The trial records of Luis de Carvajal, el mozo and his uncle the Governor have been transcribed. See “Processos de Luis de Carvajal, Gobernador” (Toro, 1932);and Obregón, 1935. 1 The pioneering scholarship of Alfonso Toro (La Familia Carvajal) and Martin A. Cohen (The Martyr) lay the groundwork for all subsequent scholarship on the Carvajal family. In addition, Seymour Leibman’s investigations and translations of Carvajal’s writings have also added to our understanding of this fascinating family. Miriam Bodian’s chapter on Carvajal in her Dying in the law of Moses (2007) explores the roots of his intellectual and religious world view, particularly as it relates to martyrdom. Lúcia Helena Costigan contextualizes carvajal’s life and writings within the context of Iberian intellectual culture in her, Through Cracks in the Wall: Modern Inquisitions and New Christian Letrados in the Iberian Atlantic World (2010). I explore questions of family and self-fashioning in the case of Carvajal in chapters three and four of my Narratives from the Sephardic Atlantic (Perelis, 2016). 2 The saga of the resurfaced manuscripts is told with typical flair by Ilan Stavans who according to his – “The Return of Carvajal” (2019) played a central role in the caper! 3 Carvajal, Luis de, Luis De Carvajal Manuscripts. Mexico, .159. https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/10013425